NEW YORK, April 25 (UPI) -- Developments in the U.S. oil and natural gas sectors are strengthening the country's position in the world, national security adviser Tom Donilon said.
U.S. crude oil production is expected to "grow rapidly" through 2016, the Energy Information Administration said. The EIA, in its short-term energy outlook for April, said it expects U.S. crude oil production to go from an average of 6.5 million barrels per day recorded last year to 7.9 million bpd next year.
The trend is no different for natural gas. Donilon told Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy that shale natural gas developments created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the country.
Energy developments like these will directly strengthen the nation's economy and its position in the world.
"Our strength at home is critical to our strength in the world, and our energy boom has proven to be an important driver for our economic recovery," he said. "We are just beginning to understand and appreciate the geostrategic impacts of these changes."
Imports of foreign oil are at their lowest level since 1998. Donilon said, however, that the energy markets are interconnected, meaning the reduction in imports doesn't mean the United States should retreat from the international economy.
"Global energy markets are part of a deeply interdependent world economy," he said. "The United States continues to have an enduring interest in stable supplies of energy and the free flow of commerce everywhere."
